--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is a whoopee cushion, a chair pulled…" description: "\"Life is a whoopee cushion, a chair pulled away just as you were taking a seat.\" — Wally Lamb" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/wally-lamb-1817_chairs_life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled_181892.png" --- # Life is a whoopee cushion, a chair pulled away just as you… ![“Life is a whoopee cushion, a chair pulled away just as you were taking a seat.” quote by Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/wally-lamb-1817_chairs_life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled_181892.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/wally-lamb-1817_chairs_life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled_181892.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/wally-lamb-1817_chairs_life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled_181892.png) > “Life is a whoopee cushion, a chair pulled away just as you were taking a seat.” [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is unpredictable, like a chair disappearing when you try to sit, causing surprise and discomfort. **In simple terms:** Life is unpredictable and can surprise you. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and adapt quickly. Themes life uncertainty humor Mood wry thoughtful Type philosophical humorous When to use this quote - career changes - relationships - travel Key Concepts existentialism resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle sudden changes? - What strategies help you stay grounded? A Different Perspective Expecting stability can lead to disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [If you get a little gassy, you've got to let it go. So people used to say to me, 'You're like a whoopee cushion.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whoopi-goldberg/if-you-get-a-little-gassy-you-ve-got-to-let-it-go-so-people-used-to/) [Whoopi Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whoopi-goldberg/) > [“a shuddering breath and moved to the side of the bed where a chair had been pulled up, most likely so that Ava, Dad’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-reed/a-shuddering-breath-and-moved-to-the-side-of-the-bed-where-a-chair/) Terri Reed > [One sits uncomfortably on a too comfortable cushion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/one-sits-uncomfortably-on-a-too-comfortable-cushion/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Speed is the cushion of sloppiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-driscoll/speed-is-the-cushion-of-sloppiness/) William P. Driscoll > [The thorn in the cushion of the editorial chair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/the-thorn-in-the-cushion-of-the-editorial-chair/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [A guest is a jewel on the cushion of hospitality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/a-guest-is-a-jewel-on-the-cushion-of-hospitality/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [Them as ha' never had a cushion don't miss it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/them-as-ha-never-had-a-cushion-don-t-miss-it/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [In the bed of suspicion, no cushion can make a man to sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/in-the-bed-of-suspicion-no-cushion-can-make-a-man-to-sleep/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Indolence is the devil's cushion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/indolence-is-the-devil-s-cushion/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Wisdom cannot prevent a fall, but may cushion it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/wisdom-cannot-prevent-a-fall-but-may-cushion-it/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Music is the softest cushion in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niki-de-saint-phalle/music-is-the-softest-cushion-in-the-world/) Niki de Saint Phalle > [The bigger the cushion, the better the pushin'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/the-bigger-the-cushion-the-better-the-pushin/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [The idle man is the devil's cushion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hall/the-idle-man-is-the-devil-s-cushion/) [Joseph Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hall/) > [A Whoopee cushion filled with gravy adds a hilarious new dimension to a rather tiresome practical joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thegr81/a-whoopee-cushion-filled-with-gravy-adds-a-hilarious-new-dimension-to/) Thegr81 > [“frog. It was this spongelike rubber cushion that absorbed the first terrific shock of a thousand-pound horse galloping over a hard surface at high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-farley/frog-it-was-this-spongelike-rubber-cushion-that-absorbed-the-first/) [Walter Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-farley/) ## More by Wally Lamb > [“Sometimes we want something to be true so badly that we convince ourselves that it is true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/sometimes-we-want-something-to-be-true-so-badly-that-we-convince/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [I like to write first-person because I like to become the character I'm writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-like-to-write-first-person-because-i-like-to-become-the-character-i/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [But I think this: that whatever prices I've paid, whatever sorrows I shoulder, well, I have blessings, too. Not just my family now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/but-i-think-this-that-whatever-prices-i-ve-paid-whatever-sorrows-i/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“why would white dudes want to change things when they held all the cards?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/why-would-white-dudes-want-to-change-things-when-they-held-all-the/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“And in taking on the subject of themselves-making themselves vulnerable to the unseen reader-they have exchanged powerlessness for for the power that comes with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/and-in-taking-on-the-subject-of-themselves-making-themselves/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“People had always amazed him, he began. But they amazed him more since the sickness. For as long as the two of them had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/people-had-always-amazed-him-he-began-but-they-amazed-him-more-since/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“So I got my stuff and the girl at the register puts these other things in my bag, too. Little free samples: gum and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/so-i-got-my-stuff-and-the-girl-at-the-register-puts-these-other/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [What if I don’t like adventure? Then cultivate a taste for it. Take a chance. That’s how you grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/what-if-i-don-t-like-adventure-then-cultivate-a-taste-for-it-take-a/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“Guess what?' I said. 'I have a psychic.' His head tilted questioningly, birdlike. A sidekick?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/guess-what-i-said-i-have-a-psychic-his-head-tilted-questioningly/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [The evidence of God exists in the roundness of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/the-evidence-of-god-exists-in-the-roundness-of-things/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“What I remembered about those seesaw rides was the way Thomas would get mad at me, midride, and evacuate. Send me crashing back down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/what-i-remembered-about-those-seesaw-rides-was-the-way-thomas-would/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“I didn't respond to him. Couldn't speak at all. Couldn't look at his self-mutilation--not even the clean, bandaged version of it. Instead, I looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-didn-t-respond-to-him-couldn-t-speak-at-all-couldn-t-look-at-his/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [I write to find out what the story means to me, that is what I try to do especially with the first draft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-write-to-find-out-what-the-story-means-to-me-that-is-what-i-try-to/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“As anxious and limited as that love might have been, it had been love nonetheless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/as-anxious-and-limited-as-that-love-might-have-been-it-had-been-love/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“The World is a very old place, so you'll never be able to tell a completely original story”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/the-world-is-a-very-old-place-so-you-ll-never-be-able-to-tell-a/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) [Explore all 204 Wally Lamb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) ## More Chairs quotes > [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Forget the noose. Forget the Iron Maiden. Forget the electric chair or the guillotine. The mind was mankind's most painful torture chamber, the blessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/forget-the-noose-forget-the-iron-maiden-forget-the-electric-chair-or/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [I thought being in the wheelchair might be kind of limiting for me as an actor. It turned out cool in a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-beaver/i-thought-being-in-the-wheelchair-might-be-kind-of-limiting-for-me-as/) [Jim Beaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-beaver/) > [Now know I well what people sought formerly above all else when they sought Teachers of virtue. Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Keelhaul the poets in the vestry chairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-shapiro/keelhaul-the-poets-in-the-vestry-chairs/) [Karl Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-shapiro/) > [He's earned all his money himself, with his fists. He didn't steal it like the rest of our politicians. And he'll be less tempted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitali-klitschko/he-s-earned-all-his-money-himself-with-his-fists-he-didn-t-steal-it/) [Vitali Klitschko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitali-klitschko/) > [Dentists tell you not to pick your teeth with any sharp metal object. Then you sit in their chair and the first thing they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/dentists-tell-you-not-to-pick-your-teeth-with-any-sharp-metal-object/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Once I was in a restaurant and I dropped my fork on the floor, and they gave me a new fork. So I pushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/once-i-was-in-a-restaurant-and-i-dropped-my-fork-on-the-floor-and/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [I'm not a big hijinker. I'm a big sit-in-my-chair-and-read-a-book-er.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/i-m-not-a-big-hijinker-i-m-a-big-sit-in-my-chair-and-read-a-book-er/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) > [Show some mercy to this chair which has stretched out its arms to you for so long; please satisfy its desire to embrace you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/show-some-mercy-to-this-chair-which-has-stretched-out-its-arms-to-you/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [I'm agnostic because I went through the usual process of parents insisting you go to church, and yet they didn't. So there's me, sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-m-agnostic-because-i-went-through-the-usual-process-of-parents/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [Of course, when we got home, we found that Dagda had peed on my down comforter. He had also eaten part of Mom's maidenhair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-tiernan/of-course-when-we-got-home-we-found-that-dagda-had-peed-on-my-down/) [Cate Tiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-tiernan/) Browse all 1,120 Chairs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life is a whoopee cushion, a chair pulled away just as you were taking a seat.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wally Lamb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled-away-just-as-you-were-taking/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chairs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled-away-just-as-you-were-taking/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/wally-lamb-1817_chairs_life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled_181892.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/wally-lamb-1817_chairs_life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled_181892.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/wally-lamb-1817_chairs_life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled_181892.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life is a whoopee cushion, a chair pulled away just as you were taking a seat.” — Wally Lamb", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Wally Lamb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Life is a whoopee cushion, a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled-away-just-as-you-were-taking/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled-away-just-as-you-were-taking/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```